Carbon footprint - Approach

Carbon footprint

Approach

We have implemented a life cycle approach to product development that takes into account materials, design, supply chain, manufacturing, logistics, product use and end of life treatment of our products.

Since the establishment of the company, we have focused on the following areas:

Substance control for substances with potential issues for production, recycling or landfills.
Reduction of the life cycle carbon footprint of our products.
In 2014-2015 , we commissioned a detailed Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) on one of our flagship models Xperia Z5. The LCA includes the extraction of raw materials, manufacturing of components, inbound and outbound transportation, utilization and end-of-life treatment for a mobile phone with a 3 year lifespan. The impact of our offices and travel were also included and split on an annual basis to be included as part of the overhead for phone production. The study calculates the Global Warming Potential (GWP) for an Xperia Z5 including accessories to 57 kg CO2e for an assumed operating life time of 3 years, excluding the network usage[1]. This is equivalent to driving 300 km in a typical family car.

The study resulted in a parameter model built on the results of the LCA. The model has since been updated and we use this model to evaluate our products’ carbon footprints and to identify improvement areas in the life cycle of the phones.

In general high-end phones, such as smartphones, produce more greenhouse gases in production than low-end phones. The new strategy is an added challenge for us, but we are committed and are focusing our efforts to minimize the impact through life cycle analysis.

*The effect of the various greenhouse gases is measured by converting them into so-called CO2 equivalents. One CO2 equivalent equals the effect of the emission of 1 kilogram of CO2.